Browsing Category
Nature
841 posts
As grandiose as we might think our civilizations have become, we are but the latest entry in the long chronicle detailing life on Earth. We humans share this planet with fellow organisms whose vast numbers completely tower over our own. We borrowed this planet from its previous inhabitants from eons ago and whose lives were written on the soil-turned-rock on which they were laid to rest. Modern Sciences urges its readers to contemplate our planetary co-inhabitants, both past and present.
Why Don’t Animals Need to Go to the Gym?
While humans hit the gym to train, animals, from geese to kangaroos, perform incredible feats of endurance and strength through instinct and biological adaptation, rather than through intentional workouts.
How Ancient Crocs Survived Two Apocalypses
While modern crocodilians are impressive survivors, their ancestors—from armored plant-eaters to swift two-legged hunters—used entirely different strategies to survive ancient apocalypses and conquer the world.
Why Our Entire World Depends on This One Tree
The modern world relies on natural rubber, a material that cannot be fully replicated, sourced from a single tree species at risk of being wiped out by a devastating disease.
Guava molecule synthesis offers new hope for liver cancer
Chemists at the University of Delaware report the first total synthesis of (–)-psiguadial A, a guava-derived molecule with significant potential to fight liver cancer.
The discovery of an extinct shelduck highlights the rich ancient biodiversity of the remote Rēkohu Chatham Islands
An artist’s depiction of the Rēkohu shelduck. Sasha Votyakova/Te Papa , CC BY-ND Nic Rawlence, University of Otago;…
Bumblebee catfish climb Brazil waterfalls in mass migration
Scientists document thousands of rare bumblebee catfish climbing waterfalls in Brazil for the first time, a behavior believed to be a critical part of their reproductive migration.
How Fire, Not Spears, Wiped Out America’s Giants
Researchers at the La Brea Tar Pits discovered that a combination of climate change and massive, human-sparked wildfires—not just hunting—led to the extinction of North America’s megafauna.
How climate change is making Europe’s fish move to new waters
Atlantic cod and pollock. andrzej_67/Shutterstock, CC BY-NC-ND Sevrine Sailley, Plymouth Marine Laboratory Climate change is reshaping fish habitats.…
Greenland fossil jaw may be oldest known docodontan
A newly discovered fossil jawbone from Greenland, Nujalikodon cassiopeiae, has been identified as the oldest definitive docodontan, providing key insights into the evolution and dispersal of early mammal relatives.
Gut bacteria digest food additives, new study finds
A new study reveals that human gut bacteria can digest common "indigestible" cellulose-based food additives when primed by natural dietary fiber found in fruits and vegetables.